Gurugram: Cyber frauds pose as friend from Australia, dupe sr citizen of Rs 7 lakh

A Gurugram resident was allegedly duped of Rs 7 lakh by cyber frauds who posed as his friend and convinced him to transfer money to them, police here on Thursday said. According to the complaint filed by Vakul Mittal, a resident of Sector 67, the fraudsters targeted his father calling him Wednesday and posing as one of his fathers old friends.

A Gurugram resident was allegedly duped of Rs 7 lakh by cyber frauds who posed as his friend and convinced him to transfer money to them, police here on Thursday said. An FIR has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station, they said. According to the complaint filed by Vakul Mittal, a resident of Sector 67, the fraudsters targeted his father calling him Wednesday and posing as one of his father's old friends. ''A man called my father on WhatsApp impersonating as a very close old college friend of him who lives in Australia. He perfectly copied his style of talking and requested my father to assist him with Rs 7 lakh amount that he wanted transferred in a relative's account in India who was in urgent need," Mittal said in his complaint. He said that to gain his father's trust the man said he could transfer some Canadian dollars into his account, as he was facing some trouble sending the money directly to his relative. "He requested my father for a cancelled cheque and instantly shared a transfer slip of Rs 26 lakh. Then my father transferred money to the account number he gave him,'' read the complaint. Mittal said that his father was confused why he was sent Rs 26 lakh, which was so much in excess to what he transferred to the "relative" and consulted him. This is when I woke up to the fraud, he said. Following Mittal's complaint, an FIR was registered under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act. "We are verifying the details of case and action will be taken as per the law," said Inspector Naresh Kumar, the investigating officer.